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UPDATE (Philippines): Missing labour leader abducted and feared dead

March 24, 2006

UPDATE ON URGENT APPEAL UPDATE ON URGENT APPEAL UPDATE ON URGENT APPEAL

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Update on Urgent Appeal

24 March 2006

[RE: UA-087-2006: PHILIPPINES: Labour leader missing in San Ildefonso, Bulacan]
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UP-052-2006: PHILIPPINES: Missing labour leader abducted and feared dead

PHILIPPINES: Abduction and enforced disappearance; ineffective witness protection programme; inadequate police investigation; violation of workers and labour unions rights
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information from the Center for Trade Union and Human Rights (CTUHR) stating that labour leader Rogelio Concepcion, who was reported missing, is now confirmed to have been forcibly abducted and disappeared on 6 March 2006. His whereabouts remain unknown and his relatives fear that he may already be dead. Please see our previous appeal: UA-087-2006.

According to witnesses, Concepcion was forcibly abducted by men riding on a motorcycle while on his way home about 50 meters from the factory of Solid Development Corporation (SDC) where he works. Concepcion’s fellow workers were frightened and scampered for safety upon seeing the armed men seizing him. Concepcion has not been seen since.

Concepcion’s wife Marissa now fears that her husband may have already been killed. On March 16, a dead body of an unidentified man was found with his fingernails ripped-off near their village. The authorities, however, have yet to identify whether it belongs to Concepcion or not. The delay in identifying the body has only led to further trauma and depression experienced by Marissa.

Although there are potential witnesses, none have shown any interest in cooperating with the authorities, in particular the local policemen, in the investigation fearing for their life. Concepcion was the officer-in-charge of the Solid Development Corporation Workers Association (SDCWA), the labour union of workers working at the factory. His abduction is believed to have been prompted by the struggle of the worker’s union inside the factory.

According to the information received, the worker’s company, the Solid Development Corporation (SDC), is scheduled to close due to bankruptcy by the end of March 2006. The laborers, however, were pressing for the company to acknowledge their labour union and to negotiate with them. Most of the workers who are also union members, including Concepcion, are due to finish their employment with the company.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write letters to agencies listed below requesting them to exhaust all means to investigate the forcible abduction and disappearance of Rogelio Concepcion. The witnesses to the incident must be afforded with appropriate protection once they decide to testify to ensure the effectiveness of the investigation and their security and welfare. The victim’s wife Marissa must also be afforded with appropriate security and trauma counseling to help in her emotional and mental recovery.

Suggested letter:

Dear __________,

PHILIPPINES: Missing labour leader abducted and feared dead

Name of victim: Rogelio Concepcion (36), officer-in-charge of the labour union Solid Development Corporation Workers Association (SDCWA)
Name of alleged perpetrators: Armed men riding on a motorcycle
Place of incident: Barangay (village) Mataas na Parang, San Ildefonso, Bulacan
Date of incident: 6 March 2006

I am writing to draw your attention to the case of Rogelio Concepcion. According to the latest information I have received, Concepcion was forcibly abducted by armed men riding on a motorcycle and subsequently disappeared on 6 March 2006; the day he was first reported missing by his wife Marissa. I have learned that Concepcion’s fellow workers saw him being seized by his abductors.

Concepcion was on his way home after coming out from the factory of Solid Development Corporation (SDC), a thread manufacturing company where he was working when the incident took place. The victim’s fellow workers were frightened and scampered for safety upon seeing Concepcion being seized. The place was only 50 meters away from the gate of the factory.

I am deeply concerned that an investigation into this matter may not be effective and will not lead to conclusive findings due to the unwillingness of potential witnesses to testify. I have learned that witnesses are reluctant to cooperate for fear of their life and safety. I therefore urge you to ensure that they are afforded with protection and security in accordance with the "Witness Protection, Security and Benefit Act (RA 6981)". This is essential in identifying and prosecuting the perpetrators.

Concepcion’s has had a profound effect on his wife Marissa. I therefore urge your intervention to ensure that Marissa is afforded with proper counseling to help her recover from the emotional and mental stress of this incident. Likewise, I also request you to afford her with adequate security and protection without delay should there be any threats on her life.

Furthermore, I request you to have the elements of the 24th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army properly investigated to answer to the allegations of their possible involvement in the victim’s disappearance. I am aware that prior to the incident, the military unit concerned had allegedly harassed and intimidated union leaders and workers, including Concepcion. I am unaware of any investigation conducted regarding this matter.

I trust that you will take action in this case.

Yours sincerely,

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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:

1. Ms. Purificacion Quisumbing
Commissioner
Commission on Human Rights
SAAC Bldg., Commonwealth Avenue
U.P. Complex, Diliman
Quezon City
PHILIPPINES
Tel: +63 2 928 5655 / 926 6188
Fax: +63 2 929 0102
Email: drpvq@chr.gov.ph

2. Mr. Orlando Casimiro
Deputy Ombudsman
Office of the Deputy Ombudsman for the Military and
Other Law Enforcement Offices
3rd Floor, Ombudsman Bldg., Agham Road, Diliman (1104)
Quezon City
PHILIPPINES
Tel: +632 926 9032
Fax: +63 2 926 8747

3. P/DIR Gen. Arturo Lumibao
Chief, Philippine National Police (PNP)
Camp Crame
Quezon City
PHILIPPINES
Tel: +63 2726 4361/4366/8763
Fax: +63 2724 8763

4. Gen. Generoso Senga
Chief of Staff
Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP)
AFP-GHQ Offices, Camp Gen Emilio Aguinaldo
Quezon City
PHILIPPINES

5. Mrs. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
President
Republic of the Philippines
Malacanang Palace
JP Laurel Street, San Miguel
Manila 1005
PHILIPPINES
Tel: +63 2 735 6201 / 564 1451 to 80
Fax: +63 2 736 1010

6. Mr. Stephen J. Toope
Chairperson
UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances
C/o OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Fax: +41 22 917 9006
E-mail: urgent-action@ohchr.org

7. International Labour Office
4, route des Morillons
CH-1211 Geneva 22
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 799 6111
Fax: +41 22 798 8685
E-mail: ilo@ilo.org
ILO Regional Office for Asia & the Pacific in Bangkok (ASIE)
+66 2 288 17 10 Regional Director
+66.2.288.30.56: Director (for urgent matters only)
Email ad: bangkok@ilo.org

Thank you.

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ahrchk@ahrchk.org)

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Update
Document ID :
UP-052-2006
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Extended Introduction: Urgent Appeals, theory and practice

A need for dialogue

Many people across Asia are frustrated by the widespread lack of respect for human rights in their countries.  Some may be unhappy about the limitations on the freedom of expression or restrictions on privacy, while some are affected by police brutality and military killings.  Many others are frustrated with the absence of rights on labour issues, the environment, gender and the like. 

Yet the expression of this frustration tends to stay firmly in the private sphere.  People complain among friends and family and within their social circles, but often on a low profile basis. This kind of public discourse is not usually an effective measure of the situation in a country because it is so hard to monitor. 

Though the media may cover the issues in a broad manner they rarely broadcast the private fears and anxieties of the average person.  And along with censorship – a common blight in Asia – there is also often a conscious attempt in the media to reflect a positive or at least sober mood at home, where expressions of domestic malcontent are discouraged as unfashionably unpatriotic. Talking about issues like torture is rarely encouraged in the public realm.

There may also be unwritten, possibly unconscious social taboos that stop the public reflection of private grievances.  Where authoritarian control is tight, sophisticated strategies are put into play by equally sophisticated media practices to keep complaints out of the public space, sometimes very subtly.  In other places an inner consensus is influenced by the privileged section of a society, which can control social expression of those less fortunate.  Moral and ethical qualms can also be an obstacle.

In this way, causes for complaint go unaddressed, un-discussed and unresolved and oppression in its many forms, self perpetuates.  For any action to arise out of private frustration, people need ways to get these issues into the public sphere.

Changing society

In the past bridging this gap was a formidable task; it relied on channels of public expression that required money and were therefore controlled by investors.  Printing presses were expensive, which blocked the gate to expression to anyone without money.  Except in times of revolution the media in Asia has tended to serve the well-off and sideline or misrepresent the poor.

Still, thanks to the IT revolution it is now possible to communicate with large audiences at little cost.  In this situation there is a real avenue for taking issues from private to public, regardless of the class or caste of the individual.

Practical action

The AHRC Urgent Appeals system was created to give a voice to those affected by human rights violations, and by doing so, to create a network of support and open avenues for action.  If X’s freedom of expression is denied, if Y is tortured by someone in power or if Z finds his or her labour rights abused, the incident can be swiftly and effectively broadcast and dealt with. The resulting solidarity can lead to action, resolution and change. And as more people understand their rights and follow suit, as the human rights consciousness grows, change happens faster. The Internet has become one of the human rights community’s most powerful tools.   

At the core of the Urgent Appeals Program is the recording of human rights violations at a grass roots level with objectivity, sympathy and competence. Our information is firstly gathered on the ground, close to the victim of the violation, and is then broadcast by a team of advocates, who can apply decades of experience in the field and a working knowledge of the international human rights arena. The flow of information – due to domestic restrictions – often goes from the source and out to the international community via our program, which then builds a pressure for action that steadily makes its way back to the source through his or her own government.   However these cases in bulk create a narrative – and this is most important aspect of our program. As noted by Sri Lankan human rights lawyer and director of the Asian Human Rights Commission, Basil Fernando:

"The urgent appeal introduces narrative as the driving force for social change. This idea was well expressed in the film Amistad, regarding the issue of slavery. The old man in the film, former president and lawyer, states that to resolve this historical problem it is very essential to know the narrative of the people. It was on this basis that a court case is conducted later. The AHRC establishes the narrative of human rights violations through the urgent appeals. If the narrative is right, the organisation will be doing all right."

Patterns start to emerge as violations are documented across the continent, allowing us to take a more authoritative, systemic response, and to pinpoint the systems within each country that are breaking down. This way we are able to discover and explain why and how violations take place, and how they can most effectively be addressed. On this path, larger audiences have opened up to us and become involved: international NGOs and think tanks, national human rights commissions and United Nations bodies.  The program and its coordinators have become a well-used tool for the international media and for human rights education programs. All this helps pave the way for radical reforms to improve, protect and to promote human rights in the region.